COMMUNITY COLUMNIST
Pit-to-pier plan threatens Hood Canal's health

Bob Dietz

January 18, 2004

Every so often, an article in The Sun reminds me that I have a file drawer full of information about an issue of interest, or concern, here in West Sound. That's what happened Tuesday when I read the story about the Hood Canal Environmental Achievement Awards annual luncheon scheduled for Thursday. This is an especially significant event this year because of growing concern about the decline in the quality of that beautiful waterway and surrounding areas.

So, I sorted through newspaper clippings and notes from conversations I've had over the past few months with people who work to protect our natural resources. Among clippings from The Sun was an article on the spill of 4,800 gallons of industrial fuel (like "toothpaste gel") at the Chevron-Texaco terminal between Seattle and Everett. No big deal, right? That spill was way over there on the other side of the Sound. Wrong. The tide and shifting winds fouled the Suquamish tribal lands, a highly sensitive area for shellfish and wildlife. We're talking about Kitsap County here, not Alaska, or the shoreline of Spain, or some other distant location.

We need to remember that the impact of oil spills or strip mining or road building in forested lands and the many other violations of the spiritual and moral responsibilities of stewardship are felt for generations and over vast territories.

I was reminded of that truth as I found a couple of sheets of information about the Asarco smelter in the Tacoma area that was finally closed in 1985. According to Asarco's own estimates, it dumped more than 15 million tons of rocky slag into Commencement Bay to a depth of 30 feet and more, creating a 23-acre breakwater peninsula, which has been disintegrating over the years. All the while, its infamous smokestack spewed arsenic and lead on the lawns, gardens and play fields of Ruston and south Puget Sound.

What was its counter argument when threatened with closure by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1983? It said they provided employment for 500 workers, contributed to the economy of Pierce County and the slag breakwater provided safe harbor for small boats! We might add -- sarcastically -- that they continue to provide employment for workers at taxpayers' expense as the EPA tries to prevent further oozing of slag into that bay.

Which brings me to the stack of information I discovered about the pit-to-pier monstrosity planned for Hood Canal by Fred Hill Materials. There were newspaper articles, notes from conversations with proponents and opponents, e-mails. ... It's difficult to summarize all that information and the energy devoted to trying to protect us from another potential environmental disaster. But, let me call your attention to a few shocking facts about planned violations of Hood Canal some members of Fred Hill Materials have in mind.

The opening of John Fabian's article on the subject is a good place to start. Fabian, a Ph.D. in engineering, former combat pilot and NASA astronaut, now retired and living in Port Ludlow, writes, "While much has been written about current threats to Hood Canal, including pollution and low oxygen levels, the greatest threat is still on the horizon, yet very real."

He's referring, of course, to Fred Hill Materials' plan to build a 4-mile-long conveyor belt to a 1,000-foot pier and a 900-foot moorage on the western shores of Hood Canal. They are already digging in that area, but they claim the expansion would make them competitive from Seattle to Singapore. At whose expense? Ours and our children's, of course.

What will be at risk when 7 million tons of gravel are shipped out annually by the 745-foot-long ships sailing in and out of the canal six times a month (look out bridge), fed by a pit-to-pier mechanical monster operating 24 hours day?

But, hey, the company claims it'll provide some sand to "restore the habitat" and increase revenue for Jefferson County. (Oh yes, I'm guessing it'll also "provide" jobs through the EPA to clean up the mess 50 years from now.)

There is much more to be said about this environmental violation of our West Sound. But I'll need to muddle through more of those notes. Next time.

BOB DIETZ
columnists@thesunlink.com